Why Leonardo DiCaprio Thanking His Makeup Artist Means More Than You Think
The 2016 Golden Globes seemed to pan out just as most people wanted: Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Schumer were perfect, we got at least one good meme, and Leonardo DiCaprio took home a statue for his performance in "The Revenant." While the quest for Oscar gold is the biggest hot topic when it comes to Leo and awards shows, his Golden Globe winnings were no less meaningful since the dude -- despite being world renowned as a great actor -- had only taken home Globes statues for two past roles: as Howard Hughes in 2005's "The Aviator" and as Jordan Belfort in 2014's "The Wolf of Wall Street." As is customary for a big moment like this, Leo thanked those closest to him, starting with his director Alejandro G. Iñárritu, his friend and co-star Tom Hardy, and... his makeup artist?
Yep, just after Iñárritu and Hardy, Leo's MUA got highest honors in his Globes acceptance speech: "My makeup artist, Sian Grigg -- you are an unbelievable talent. Thank you for all the genius you brought to this movie."
Now, before you go eye-rolling about someone other than Kim Kardashian giving big ups to their glam team, consider this: How do you feel at work/school on a day when you don't think you look your best? Not great, right? I'd imagine your performance probably suffers, no? And if your job is to convince an audience that you have occupied an entirely different human's perspective and life, wouldn't the way you look have a little something to do with your believability? (Yes, it would.)
Lucky for all of us, both Leo and Sian are excellent at their jobs. Since I can't embed the entire movie, here's the trailer, so you can get a little taste.
Beautiful. In that, like, "Wow, art -- the human experience is so beautiful," sort of way. Sian spent multiple hours every day making over Leo's (cherubic) face for this role. And the ice in his beard? Not ice at all. "That was actually wax," Leo revealed on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show,". "I had a fantastic makeup artist in this movie. She did all the stuff from the bear mauling, and it was wax that she dribbled all over my face every day. It was about a four to five hour makeup job every day with all the scars."
But OK, being a talented makeup artist alone doesn't land you into the top tier of Leonardo DiCaprio's gratitudes, does it? Perhaps it could, but in Sian's case, that "thank you" comes with years -- decades even -- of history working together. Are you sitting down? Sian has been doing Leo's makeup since... *drum rolllllllllll* "TITANIC."
Not only has she been entrusted with his face since it looked like THAT, she's responsible for Leo's greatest transformations: the aforementioned Howard Hughes in 2005's "The Aviator" and Jordan Belfort in 2014's "The Wolf of Wall Street," as well as his roles in "The Beach," "Gangs of New York," "Catch Me If You Can," "The Departed," "Blood Diamond," "Body of Lies," "Revolutionary Road," "Shutter Island," "Inception," "Django Unchained," "The Great Gatsby," and the crown jewel makeup transformation of them all, "J. Edgar."
With a track record like that, I'd thank her, too.